Laundry Nook Makeover

I'm happy to report that we finally finished the laundry corner of the kitchen...for now at least! And we made it before the two year mark here! The long term plan ("when we win the lottery") for this corner is a shallow pantry that spans the length of the wall, with the washer and dryer moved to a mudroom area we want to add on through the back kitchen door (which is now the basement/garage access). When this house was first built the far half of the current kitchen was the original kitchen, while what is now the front half of the kitchen was the dining room. The two rooms were separated by a wall that had a built-in China cabinet (and it makes me incredibly sad wondering what may have happened to it!)

I added details of how and what we used in this update for those of you (like me!) who love the "This Old House" step-by-step version of projects. For those who prefer the dramatic "Before and After" results, scroll all the way to the bottom for the photo. 👍

The laundry area was stuck in a time warp the first time we saw it. Tucked along the back wall of the kitchen and slightly in the way of the bathroom door, it is not the best place for the machines in terms of aesthetics. But in light of practicality, its location makes it super convenient in staying on top of laundry. It sure beats running down to a damp chilly basement multiple times a day!

These are the realtor's photos from early 2016 when this place reappeared on Zillow.

Over the last decade of rentals, we've had the laundry in some pretty strange places, so having it back in the kitchen was not a deal breaker. When Aidan was a toddler and I was pregnant with Gavin, I dreaded hauling the baskets of laundry out of our apartment and down the sidewalk to the corner "laundry unit" in the building. I'd pray no one else was using the shared machines, and at times had to set my basket of dirty laundry in line waiting for others to finish their laundry. Some neighbors would start a load and then leave for the day, so I'd take it upon myself to finish their laundry to keep the line moving. Oh how I don't miss those days! In the next place the washer was butted up beside the stove. And finally, in a closet off the dining area.

The day we took possession of this house we noticed an odd bulge behind the wallpaper that hadn't been there before. I had to investigate, of course, since the wallpaper was coming down anyway. I popped the "bubble" and discovered a large hole in the plaster wall that had been wallpapered over. Oh Grandma, how right you were. Wallpaper does hide a multitude of errors!

We lived over a year with this wall hanging out behind the washer and dryer...like an elephant in the room.

This was just after we finished moving. Before Thanksgiving of 2016, I ripped off strips of the outer layer of wallpaper trying to tone down the orange and olive hues.

To remove the paper backing/glue from the wall, I used a putty knife and a spray bottle full of hot water and Downy fabric softener. (It smelled so good and clean in here!) Then I wiped the soap residue off the wall with warm water. The paper scraped off the wall like butter after leaving the spray sit for 5 minutes. Speaking of butter...the kitchen was once my old shade of yellow!

I got impatient to see what the new paint would look like...right in the middle of scraping and removing the quarter round trim along the ceiling. The paint is ColorPlace brand (from Wal-Mart), Shadowbox Beige color in satin finish. 

I had to take quite a few breaks to feed boys and nurse the baby.

I couldn't wait for the spackling to dry over cracks and nail holes, so I painted around them....

Spackled, sanded, and paint dry! I didn't touch the wall right behind the machines because it was going to be covered in beadboard. We got the beadboard from Menards because it was on sale: $16 for a 4'x8' panel...though Eli said never again, since when he asked an employee if they could cut the panels in half for us the guy quipped, "If I had a saw...." and walked away. 

A thorn under both our sides was the pile of junk that found its home on top of the dryer. It included my cleaning supplies, detergent, iron, clothespins, paintbrushes, screwdrivers, garden seeds, etc. This white cabinet was discarded from a kitchen remodel of friends of ours. They were kind enough to salvage it for us, and we repurposed it as a laundry/cleaning supply cabinet after giving it a fresh coat of paint.

I didn't get any photos of the beadboard installation...it was a stressful ordeal and I mainly tried to stay out of Eli's way in between holding panels up for him to glue (Liquid Nails) and nail (finishing nails) in place. For the baseboard we used a regular 1x6, primed and painted, to match the rest of the kitchen and bathroom baseboards.

No more ugly holey wall! 

Eli cut a 1x10 into three shelves to fit the space between the cabinet and the wall above the washer. I stained them with Minwax "Chestnut" gel stain and we put the shelves up with these cast iron brackets that were on clearance at Hobby Lobby.

And finally, the last piece of the laundry corner puzzle:

We bought our very first washer/dryer set 14 years ago. The washer died about four years ago (it literally shook itself apart), so we replaced it with the cheapest washer we could find at the time. Recently the original dryer started squealing and being temperamental about when it wanted to dry clothes. Eli (conveniently!) won a large gift card to Best Buy at his work Christmas party, so he decided we were getting a completely new set. The old washer is still in great working condition, so we're passing it on to someone else who could really use a different washer.

The last thing we plan to do to this corner this year is replace the light fixture...and I'm hoping next year the floor!

(In case you were wondering what I do instead of sleeping...I make plans that are sure to stress my husband out!) I took the glass dome off the old fixture so we could get better light back in this corner. I'm currently researching ways to refinish the kitchen cabinets and shelves so we can eliminate the last of the orange/honey vibe in the kitchen.

Update 3/13/18: we got the new light installed! The ceiling under that wood medallion needed some love, so until we are prepared to tackle that, the medallion stays. 

Slowly but surely we're making this place our own!

Scale Saturday 2018: Week 8

This was a hard week, no getting around that. Last weekend's splurges took until Thursday to come off the scale. On Friday two pounds reappeared, despite staying faithfully within my calorie parameters. You guys, this getting healthy thing is just as much emotional work as it is physical. I cannot count how many times I wistfully dreamed of moving to Italy to live shamelessly off the local cuisine, since I've officially nailed this matronly figure thing. 😂

Jokes aside, amid my discouragement I had to remind myself that I had a pretty good week last week, and that I've come quite a ways since the first of the year. I decided to snap a photo for comparison.

In measurements:

Bust -5 inches

Waist -6 inches

Hips -5 inches

I've struggled most my life with body image issues and my weight. I remember suffering severe anxiety standing in the mirror at the age of 12, wondering why none of my clothes looked right on me...at least in my own mind. I was always self conscious. I started my first "diet" when I was only 12, and lost 18 pounds.

Thinking about Addie going through that in 11 years makes me incredibly sad. I never, ever want my daughter (or sons, for that matter) to feel like they have to look a certain way to be accepted. And I want to clarify, my own Mom never made me feel bad about my appearance or size, and I have no memory of Mom ever dieting, other than drinking Diet Coke. I had a friend who's mom was always on a diet. At supper she would sit on a stool at the corner of the table and drink but not eat. I thought it was the strangest thing, but it wasn't just that. I heard other people comment on their daughter's size, or make comments about others. Our society consistently puts "image" on a pedestal. And of course, I compared myself to them.

I found a post recently that made so much sense to me. Rather than try to paraphrase, I'm copying the majority of it here.

How to talk to your daughter about her body, step one: Don't talk to your daughter about her body, except to teach her how it works.

Don't say anything if she's lost weight. Don't say anything if she's gained weight.

If you think your daughter's body looks amazing, don't say that. Here are some things you can say instead:

"You look so healthy!" is a great one. [I was told this a lot when I was younger, and I took it to mean "you have enough meat on your bones that you could miss a week of suppers and be just fine." I think eliminating "looks" from any compliment is a good idea. "You are healthy! You are strong!"]

Or how about, "You're looking so strong."

"I can see how happy you are -- you're glowing."

Better yet, compliment her on something that has nothing to do with her body.

Don't comment on other women's bodies either. Nope. Not a single comment, not a nice one or a mean one.

Teach her about kindness towards others, but also kindness towards yourself.

Don't you dare talk about how much you hate your body in front of your daughter, or talk about your new diet. In fact, don't go on a diet in front of your daughter. Buy healthy food. Cook healthy meals. But don't say, "I'm not eating carbs right now." Your daughter should never think that carbs are evil, because shame over what you eat only leads to shame about yourself.

Encourage your daughter to run because it makes her feel less stressed. Encourage your daughter to surf, or rock climb, or mountain bike because it scares her and that's a good thing sometimes.

Help your daughter love soccer or rowing or hockey because sports make her a better leader and a more confident woman. Explain that no matter how old you get, you'll never stop needing good teamwork. Never make her play a sport she isn't absolutely in love with.

Teach your daughter how to cook kale.

Teach your daughter how to bake chocolate cake made with six sticks of butter.

Pass on your own mom's recipe for Christmas morning coffee cake. Pass on your love of being outside.

Maybe you and your daughter both have thick thighs or wide ribcages. It's easy to hate these non-size zero body parts. Don't. Tell your daughter that with her legs she can run a marathon if she wants to, and her ribcage is nothing but a carrying case for strong lungs. She can scream and she can sing and she can lift up the world, if she wants.

Remind your daughter that the best thing she can do with her body is to use it to mobilize her beautiful soul.
~ Sarah Koppelkam

Our Lenten Preparations

Another Lent is upon us, and it comes, as it does every year, just in time. Ash Wednesday took precedence over St. Valentine's Day this year.

"Lent is the autumn of the spiritual life during which we gather fruit to keep us going for the rest of the year." -St. Francis de Sales

Around this time every year I'm pretty much tired of it all. Everything is screaming to be decluttered and scrubbed down...from my home to my soul. Habits of excess are being trimmed; boxes are filling up with possessions that are no longer useful, the tongue is becoming accustomed to being curbed in eating and speaking, and new habits are trying to form.

This year we're working on developing our personal spiritual lives. While we'll also be performing small (or large, depending on perspective!) sacrifices in giving some things up, most of our focus will rest on being better at all the things we're already supposed to be doing. Examples: responding to others with smiles rather than grimaces (even if they are a tad annoying), working on posture and focus during family prayers, refraining from grumbling about duties, performing our tasks to the best of our abilities, and building personal relationships with God separate from family devotions. It's very easy to do as the Romans while in Rome, but if we truly want to be Roman we need to take it upon ourselves to make ourselves citizens and to live that way. It's never too early for children to learn to talk to God as they would their best and closest friend.

Every Friday we will be praying the Stations of the Cross using this CD from Holy Heroes.

We will also be using this Spiritual Journal, also from Holy Heroes for the first time this year. It is designed for older children who enjoy writing, so I imagine Aidan will take to it best. However, I plan to have the other boys journal along in separate (blank) notebooks by drawing pictures or making short lists for themselves. Here is a peek inside the journal for those who may be curious how it's set up.

We will continue our studies of the lives of the saints (real live superheroes!), following certain feast days according to the liturgical calendar. Our studies will include stories of the saints, learning about the area of the world and the time each lived in, and possibly an appropriately themed craft or recipe. For Easter the boys receive new saint books, so I'm working on building my list. If you have suggestions of books I could add please let me know!

This Lent I'm focusing on self-care, which for many mamas is something that comes last, if at all. Many mamas' lives focus so intently on everyone else that they often neglect their own spiritual, if not physical needs.  The most confusing part is discerning what exactly is self care? While it's different for each of us, it is essentially whatever improves your mental and physical health, in moderation. Whatever recharges you, makes you feel able to face the next task. Far from being selfish, self care is necessary to properly carry out all the demanding responsibilities of your vocation. You cannot pour from an empty cup.

Perspective is part of self care for me, so I'm picking up the gratitude journal again that was gifted to me a few years ago by a dear friend.

Listening to something uplifting during the day improves the mood of most of us, though we usually keep mornings quiet for homework. In the afternoon I enjoy listening to Magnificat Radio's live broadcast. For the past several years I've also gotten a lot out of listening to the sermons of Fr. Isaac Mary Relyea. Lent is a great time to meditate on the Four Last Things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell. This is his discourse on heaven (with a bit less fire and brimstone than the talk on hell...)

Lent is about putting affections and appetites in their proper place: loving God above all else, and your neighbor as yourself. The goal of Lent is to die to yourself so you may live for God, not to look better or be better liked. That includes conforming ourselves to God's Will. There's a story about St. Teresa of Avila that recounts her plan to fill Lent with a multitude of rigorous penances. Instead she fell ill, and her fellow sisters had to wait on her and nurse her back to health. Our Lord appeared to her and told her those rigorous penances were His, while being waited on was the penance He had chosen for her. Extreme penances often result in discouragement or frustration, distracting us from the goal of growing closer to God.

The rules (both traditional and updated according to the 1983 Code of Canon Law) of Lenten fasting and abstinence can be found here at Fisheaters.

Buttermilk Pancakes From Scratch

The boys' favorite supper around here is breakfast, and that's just what we did tonight. I'd like to take credit for being a kind and thoughtful mother, but this treat was totally due to our pressing need to get groceries.  I found a pound of ground pork in the freezer that I mixed up into breakfast sausage, and a bottle of maple syrup in the back of the fridge. We were out of Bisquick so I decided to try making pancakes from scratch...for the first time in my life, I'm a little ashamed to admit. The boys said these were way better than the old pancakes, and I'd have to agree! I'm sure we'll be making these a lot in the future!

Buttermilk Pancakes
Makes about 10-12 8" pancakes

• 4 cups flour
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 1/2 cups buttermilk *
• 2 eggs
• 3 Tbsp. butter, melted
• Butter or oil to grease the pan

* You can make your own buttermilk by mixing 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar per each cup of milk. I had neither, so I used lime juice instead and it worked splendidly.

Mix dry ingredients first. In a separate bowl beat eggs and melted butter into buttermilk. Wisk slowly into dry ingredients. Grease a frying pan and preheat over medium-low heat. Ladle half a cup of batter into pan to form a circle. Flip when bubbles form across the pancake.

We enjoy pancakes topped traditionally with butter and syrup, but also occasionally have blueberries, strawberries, and whipped cream on them.

The Day Goliath Fell

Today marks one year since Goliath fell...and one year since the beginning of this post!

Meet Goliath, the massive sugar maple tree that coated everything on the east side of our house in sticky black sap the summer of 2016. 

It took me a really long time to agree that the tree needed to come down. It was the only tree on our property suited for a tree swing and a treehouse. And it was so old! But it was pretty obvious that it was a nuisance when visitors avoided parking in our driveway. The sap it dropped all over vehicles attracted all manner of bees, wasps, and other stinging creatures, making it a hazard opening doors, not to mention a mess to clean up. Eli is allergic to bees, which pretty much was the determining factor in the decision.

"Yep. She's pretty solid. Gonna need a chainsaw for this one."

I watched one last sunrise through the old beast. I liked the tree in part because of the view it blocked in the summer. Our neighbor, Ray, said that he and the former owner each planted these "twin" maples almost half a century ago. Ray helped us that day hauling branches and twigs to the compost dump north of town. Little did we know Ray was dying from cancer. He passed away the week before Christmas.

We hired distant cousin and longtime friend of ours, B.J., for the job. He brought another cousin, Corey, to help. If anyone in the Cedar Valley needs an arborist, please message me and I'll send you his contact information. I highly recommend him! I was busy most the day cooking food for everyone who came to work, but I took every opportunity to watch the process. My parents and brother were here to help haul away branches and stack logs.

All down! It took us six more months to finish splitting and stacking all the firewood the tree supplied. Each time the boys went outside they'd haul wheelbarrows full to our firewood stacks along the creek banks. In that time we planted a row of four Colorado blue spruce trees along the property line where three maple once stood, and welcomed a baby girl into the world.

The last limb to fall was massive. When it fell it splattered the whole east side of our house, up to the attic window, with mud.

The stumps and sawdust created an exciting playground for the boys. They'd toss handfuls of sawdust up in the air yelling, "and...VANISH!" Then they'd dive behind a stump. Crossing the yard became a real-life version of "Frogger"...with splinters and mud as hazards. The boys would come in looking like they'd been tarred and feathered.

Needless to say, I was relieved when the last load of wood was hauled away, the last pile of sawdust raked into the fire.

I have plans for the Goliath stump this spring that include drilling holes, a willow whip trellis, and sweet pea hyacinths. Come on warm weather!